Ravi Kapoor, later known as Jeetendra, was born into a business family that dealt with imitation jewelry and lived in a chawl. His early life was marked by supplying jewelry to V. Shantaram, which led to his casting as Sandhya's double in the 1959 movie 'Navrang'.
Jeetendra's first break as a Bollywood leading man came in 'Geet Gaya Patharon Ne'. Although born on April 7, 1942, his birth took place in 1964. He sought help from his childhood friend Rajesh Khanna to mug up his dialog and get guidance to give expressions.
Ravi had met his present wife, Shobha, when she was only 14. She completed school, went to college, and was employed as an Air Hostess with British Airways. Shobha gave birth to a daughter, Ekta, and subsequently to a son, Tusshar. Ekta became a producer of TV serials, mostly starting with 'K', while Tusshar followed in his dad's footsteps.
Jeetendra has acted opposite several actresses, including Rajshree Shantaram, Mumtaz, Saira Banu, Mala Sinha, Nanda, Sharmila Tagore, Asha Parekh, Babita, Hema Malini, Moushumi Chatterjee, Reena Roy, Jaya Pradha, Sridevi, Komal, Rekha, Parveen Babi, Neetu Singh, Shabana Azmi, Padmni Kolhapuri, Bhanupriya, Madhavi, Anita Raaj, and Sangeeta Bijlani.
Jeetendra has worked in various genres, including comedy (Tumhari Kasam, Ek Hi Bhool, Mawaali),romance (Banphool, Humjoli, Jigri Dost),and serious characters (Parichay, Khushboo, Dulhan, Kinara, Meri Awaz Suno, Chhup). He has also played old man leading roles (Udhaar Ki Zindagi, Santaan, Jeetendra).
Jeetendra met his present wife, Shobha, when she was only 14. She completed school, went to college, and was employed as an Air Hostess with British Airways. When Jeetendra was struggling between 1960-66 to establish himself as an actor, he was in a relationship with Shobha, who was his girlfriend till 1972. However, in 1974, Jeetendra and Hema Malini expressed love for each other while shooting for Dulhan, and decided to have a quick marriage. This information reached Shobha and Dharmendra, who convinced Jeetendra and Hema not to marry. Jeetendra promised Shobha that if Bidai becomes a hit, he would marry her in 1974. It was not until the release of 'Bidaai' on October 18, 1974, that Jeetendra and Shobha decided to get married, which they did in a simple ceremony on at Janki Kutir with only a few family and friends present.
Jeetendra's friendship with both actors Dharmendra and Hema Malini never got affected after this incident. All three remained friends, and Jeetendra worked with Dharmendra in several films, including hits like Dharamveer, Jaani Dost, Insaaf Ki Pukar, Nafrat Ki Andhi, and flops like The Burning Train, Samraat, The Gold Medal, Jaan Hatheli Pe, and Paapi Devtaa.
